


we go alive in a heartbeat

by seaworn



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Necklaces, Otabek is a clocksmith, mention of a minor character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 04:46:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11154531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaworn/pseuds/seaworn
Summary: Self-consciously he tugged his hoodie down and tried to walk so that his boots didn’t make too much sound against the floor. Yuri knew he probably looked like a shoplifter with his unwashed hair in a bun and an oversized hoodie clinging onto his frame, boots dirty from walking here through the park rather than taking the bus like he usually did.That wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen today, so it didn’t matter.





	we go alive in a heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> I got inspired by real life events and wrote a short ficlet out of it - just because a thought of Otabek as a clocksmith is super cute.

Yuri felt underdressed and insignificant when he stepped into the store. It was nothing like the rest of the loud, trashy mall it was situated in; the hardwood floors were spotless and there were endless, endless glass showcases all around him, lit properly so that every ring, necklace and bracelet glimmered in the light. Yuri had a fleeting, hysterical thought that this lighting probably made his skin look greasy and unclean.

 

Self-consciously he tugged his hoodie down and tried to walk so that his boots didn’t make too much sound against the floor. Yuri knew he probably looked like a shoplifter with his unwashed hair in a bun and an oversized hoodie clinging onto his frame, boots dirty from walking here through the park rather than taking the bus like he usually did.

 

That wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen today, so it didn’t matter.

 

Yuri let his gaze wander around the shop. Everything and, at the same time, _nothing_ caught his eye. Everything was golden and over the top, meaning that Yuri scrunched up his nose to a 18k gold ring just because he saw one that had 24k right next to it. What a way to lose perspective on life.

 

The locket in his pocket felt heavy and familiar, warmed by his own fist. It was sweaty, too.  

 

He shouldn’t have come here. God knows how expensive this place was. But Yuri had to at least try, even though he was pretty sure he was going to get the _“sorry, kiddo”_ and an empathic shrug of shoulders. It was the only jewelry store close enough for him at the moment.

 

“Good day, sir. How may I help you?”

 

The voice wasn’t what Yuri expected. His only experiences with a jewelry store were the memories of going to a one with _dadushka_ years and years ago. Back then Yuri had seen a bunch of older women working there and since then had assumed that maybe there were more women working in the jewelry business than men. That’s why he was surprised to hear a young male voice behind him, and for a moment Yuri thought it was the mall security guard.

 

He whipped around and came face to face with a man. Or boy, actually. He didn’t look very old. He was wearing a nametag, so he definitely worked here at least.

 

And damn, the boy was attractive. He was dark and a bit taller than Yuri. He was wearing all black - black jeans, a black t-shirt. He didn’t look very Russian to Yuri, to be honest, with his dark hair and deep-brown eyes. In the middle of all the blindingly yellow and white, shining jewelry the boy stood out from it - like he didn’t belong in this environment either, like Yuri.

 

“Um, hi”, Yuri said and became painfully aware of his own state. He could have at least washed his face before here. It was probably blotchy red, with tear streaks on his cheeks.

 

The boy was smiling encouragingly like everyone working in retail did. But there was something warm about his smile, something that said _“go on, I’m listening”_. Maybe it was the brown eyes; Yuri had noticed that he was more drawn towards them than any other colour.

 

“I have a necklace that’s broken”, Yuri said, then dropped his gaze for just a moment, feeling like eye contact with a stranger for so long was too much. He took his time  digging out the locket from his pocket. It was faded and greyish - nothing like the new, shining silver necklaces that were everywhere around him.

 

“Oh. May I see it?” The boy asked. His voice had a soothing, kind tempo. It wasn’t forced and he actually, honestly sounded like he wanted to help Yuri. If there was some sort of provision thing going on with the employees of this place, Yuri was sure that this boy was making lots of sales.

 

Yuri nodded and, a little grudgingly offered the necklace to the boy. The boy hummed and placed it on a glass table next to them. There was an endless sea of rings under the glass. Yuri took the opportunity to glance at the boy’s name tag now that the boy wasn’t looking at him.  

 

_Otabek._

 

Even his name didn't sound very Russian. But it fit him, Yuri decided. If Yuri was even a little better with small talk, he’d probably ask if this Otabek was from around here.

 

Otabek spread the necklace on the table gently like one would put a baby in the cradle. Yuri winced as he saw the ornament of the necklace separate from the chain. The repairing of it was going to be more expensive that the necklace was ever worth and Otabek probably thought Yuri was being crazy, bringing a battered old thing like that here.

 

Otabek hummed and inspected Yuri’s necklace. “Oh, this is very nice”, he said and flashed Yuri a wider smile. “It’s all silver, isn’t it?”

 

“I - I don’t know”, Yuri admitted. “It was a gift. That’s why I’m…” He stopped to think whether pouring his heart out to someone like this was necessary. On the other hand, he _needed_ to get the locket fixed. “That’s why I’m bringing it here. It’s something I’ve had for years. I wear it everyday. That’s why it broke, I suppose.”

 

Yuri felt the familiar feeling of something growing inside his throat, blocking his breathing and making his face redden again. He felt worse than he’d felt in months. Just when he’d started coping with living without dadushka, the closest and most concrete memento of him had broke.  

 

Dadushka had bought the necklace for Yuri just after he’d won his first nationals. They’d been tight on money at the time and Yuri had been grateful just for that dadushka had made it possible for him to practise skating and come this far. Back at home, Yuri had walked around with his gold medal around his neck while dadushka made celebratory pirozhkis for them. After they’d eaten, dadushka had planted a small box in front of Yuri. “I know it’s not as fancy as the medal you won today”, he’d said, “but I wanted to give you something. You did well, Yurotchka.” It was a silver necklace with a simple chain. In the chain there was hanging a picture of a tiger. A roaring, fierce tiger with big ears and great fur. Yuri had liked tigers all his life, even back then. Yuri had switched his gold medal for that necklace right that second, and hadn’t taken it off ever since. Well, until yesterday, when it had broke, the tiger ornament falling off while the chain remained on Yuri. That was the worst part - Yuri knew chains could be repaired and changed, but the actual ornament? Yuri had inspected the broken part through his surprised tears and seen that the part that you were supposed to put the chain through was broken.

 

“The picture is nice”, Otabek said, waking Yuri from his thoughts. “I like tigers.”  Then he nodded towards his left arm, and Yuri followed the movement with his eyes. On Otabek’s arm above his elbow, there was a black and white tattoo of a tiger. A roaring, fierce tiger - just like in Yuri’s tattoo. It was a big one - Yuri couldn’t see all of it unless Otabek twisted his arm a little and lifted the sleeve of his t-shirt a little.

 

“Oh, wow, that’s really similar-looking”, Yuri blurted out, and Otabek grinned.

 

“Yeah. Pretty funny, no?”

 

Yuri nodded and some of his awkwardness melted away. He even smiled a little.

 

Otabek straightened his back. “Look. We don’t actually repair any other jewelry here than rings.”

 

Yuri’s face fell.

 

“But”, the boy hastened to say, looking mildly distressed at the look on Yuri’s face. “Listen. This is only my summer job. I’m actually training to be a clocksmith, but I do know about jewelry. And the man who teaches me - he’s really good, too. We have a workshop here in St. Petersburg. I mean, the necklace definitely looks repairable to me!”

 

“You’d help me?” Yuri asked carefully.

 

Otabek nodded. “Sure. I can take the necklace with me and be in touch once it’s done?”

 

Yuri hesitated. It was silly being this attached to a necklace, but being without it felt odd. Without the familiar weight of it around his neck. He didn’t really want someone else to take it with them, no matter if they were a really reliable, good-looking boy with kind eyes.

 

“Or”, Otabek continued, sensing Yuri’s hesitation, “you could maybe come to the shop this Saturday with the necklace? It might take me some time to fix it, but you could hang around while I do it.”

 

Yuri watched Otabek and wondered whether he was being hit on or was Otabek just being nice.

Otabek shifted on his feet. “I have a coffeemaker there. You could, er, drink coffee meanwhile.”

 

Yuri’s mouth twitched up.

 

“And, you know. Cookies.”

 

Okay, he was definitely being hit on. It was silly, because Yuri looking the most awful he’d looked since the funeral and he was almost crying to a stranger because of a necklace. But - it felt nice. And Otabek _was_ good looking. Yuri hadn’t been anywhere in months and this was the most human contact he’d had in a long time, so Otabek’s offering sounded...Nice. Even if it was just a cup of coffee in a dingy workshop while the boy tinkered with Yuri’s necklace and nothing more.

 

“Alright”, he said. Otabek smiled and Yuri _swore_ he looked a little relieved that Yuri had complied. His brown eyes were a calming sight to look at, and Yuri gave himself the pleasure of looking at them for a few seconds longer than it was socially acceptable.

 

“Great”, Otabek said. “Let me just find you my card with the address on it.”

 

Yuri gently collected his necklace back into his pocket, still heartbroken over it but already feeling a little hopeful for its fate.

 

Otabek disappeared behind the counter for a moment before returning. He gave Yuri a small card, smiling tentatively. He opened his mouth and was about to say something when another customer stepped into the shop, and he paused.

 

Otabek greeted the customer over Yuri’s shoulder before returning his gaze to Yuri.

 

“It’s okay”, Yuri said, meaning that Otabek should go help the other customer. “See you Saturday, Otabek.”

 

Otabek nodded, smile widening at Yuri saying his name. “Will do, um - ?”

 

“Yuri”, Yuri supplied.

 

Otabek turned his head to the side like he was considering whether his name fit his face. “Right. Yuri. See you.”

 

Yuri walked out of the shop, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder.

 

For the first time in a long time, Yuri was smiling.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! <3
> 
> I'd love to hear your thought about this, so please - leave a comment or hit me up at tumblr @ [dotingdamen](http://www.dotingdamen.tumblr.com)!


End file.
